Screenshots: The Next Version of Spotify

We tried to get a hands-on test drive, but were told we can’t quite do that yet. In lieu of that, here are some screenshots of the upcoming version of Spotify:

Rather than saving all the music you want to keep track of into an ever-expanding collection of playlists, the new Spotify offers a new Collection tab where you can keep track of your music in one place, with a number of view options -- nice.

If the new Spotify notices that you listened to an artist, it will alert you when that artist releases an album (or it appears on Spotify for the first time).

You'll be able to follow any Spotify user to see what playlists they've created -- even Barack Obama.

Spotify has always had its own social network, but now it's more prominent, with full-fledged profile pages.

Bands can have profiles too. Also, Metallica is on Spotify now.

See? Metallica is on Spotify.

If you subscribe to Spotify Premium, you'll get notifications when a band you like releases something new -- one swipe, and you'll hear it.